manual screen to fixed screen - worth the upgrade

skinnywhippet

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or not?

I have a Beamax106" manual screen which fits snuggly on the end wall of my converted garage, It has been bugging me recently that a fixed screen instead of the manual screen may make my home cinema setup seem more 'complete'.

Dunno if this is just me being neurotic or not, has anyone else made a sideways move from manual to fixed, if so, any fixed screen recommendations? The width of my garage is only 250cm (aka 98.5 inches-ish), so a 106" diagonal, 16:9 screen is the max. I had to cut some of the plasterboard out of the sidewall to accomodate the existing screen casing as it is. This Caradale screen here fits (just) mind you:-

Projection Screens - Home Theater Projector Screens by Carada - 106 Inch Diagonal Precision Series Projection Screen - 1.78 to 1
 
At the risk of sending you to the dark side ;-), I would say go for it.

You are right, a fixed screen just says cinema in a way that a manual screen can't. Apart from quality, the feeling you get from stepping in your own private cinema makes all the difference.

It's the anticipation that does it.

A wide velvet border (which comes with that Carada), really adds to that.

We just made a fixed screen with masking (shhh...it's supposed to be a secret) that had a 16 cm border (that's about 6 inches). And as ridiculous as that sounds, I was surprised by how much I liked it.

As for the quality, a fixed screen beats all other IMO.

Otto
Beamax
 
thanks, thats more or less my thought process in changing to fixed, do you have a link for the new screen, if thats allowed,

regards,

Neil
 
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I like the A-velvet 10556 245x143 16:9 screen, but according to the dimensions its 274cm wide in total and my wall is only 250cm wide so it wouldn't take it unfortunately. My room is an ex single garage, hence it is quite narrow,

regards,

Neil
 
i have a 108" carada(pic in my signature). no manual screen will come close to making a real cinema feel...
 
Hi Neil,

It might be worthwile looking into getting a screen custom-made.

It will make the most of every inch you have in your room and shouldn't be that much more expensive. For the A-velvet we only take the price of the next size up.

I am sure Carada would do custom sizes too, though I don;t know how they do their calculations.

It takes a little bit more time, but you might as well squeeze every little bit out of the room you have...

Otto
Beamax
 
Hi Neil,

It might be worthwile looking into getting a screen custom-made.

It will make the most of every inch you have in your room and shouldn't be that much more expensive. For the A-velvet we only take the price of the next size up.

I am sure Carada would do custom sizes too, though I don;t know how they do their calculations.

It takes a little bit more time, but you might as well squeeze every little bit out of the room you have...

Otto
Beamax

how do i go about getting a quote etc?
 
Hi,

The best way to do that is by e-mail and let whomever you want the quotes from what your most important requirements are.

In your case that would be the overall frame width or net viewing width. If you go for bigger than your current screen, make sure your projector can fill it at its current distance.

As for the "logistics" my e-mail address is otto @ beamax.com

All best,

Otto
Beamax
 
At the risk of sending you to the dark side ;-), I would say go for it.

You are right, a fixed screen just says cinema in a way that a manual screen can't. Apart from quality, the feeling you get from stepping in your own private cinema makes all the difference.

It's the anticipation that does it.

A wide velvet border (which comes with that Carada), really adds to that.

We just made a fixed screen with masking (shhh...it's supposed to be a secret) that had a 16 cm border (that's about 6 inches). And as ridiculous as that sounds, I was surprised by how much I liked it.

As for the quality, a fixed screen beats all other IMO.

Otto
Beamax

Hi Otto,

When do expect to start selling the masking systems?
 
Hi Baggy,

In about 4 weeks.

And..

people who already own a Beamax fixed frame screen will be able to re-use it.

we're testing sizes up to 4 meter or about 13ft at the moment.

If you need specifics or have things on your wish list, do let me know, as it can now still be incorporated into the design...

Otto
Beamax
 
Will you be making a CIH version with side masking?
 
You're making me have to spoil all the surprises :D

But yes, we will be in about 8 weeks from now. (production-ready by that time).

Best regards,

Otto
Beamax
 
I also go along with Otto's thoughts about going as big as you dare ! .... i am in the process of using one of Otto's 3mtr A Velvet 16:9 frames that i have re-cut to 2.78mtr wide 16:9 to make it fit into the room. I am waiting now for the Microperf AT fabric , also from Otto, to be delivered on Thursday according to UPS to complete the screen.
I am also hoping to be able to retro fit the new Beamax masking system to it as well. Once i get the knack of posting pics i will do so.
So Neil .... go for it ! you wont regret it. :thumbsup:

John.
 
I also go along with Otto's thoughts about going as big as you dare ! .... i am in the process of using one of Otto's 3mtr A Velvet 16:9 frames that i have re-cut to 2.78mtr wide 16:9 to make it fit into the room. I am waiting now for the Microperf AT fabric , also from Otto, to be delivered on Thursday according to UPS to complete the screen.
I am also hoping to be able to retro fit the new Beamax masking system to it as well. Once i get the knack of posting pics i will do so.
So Neil .... go for it ! you wont regret it. :thumbsup:

John.

thanks John, my room is 250cm wide. The DRH 106" 16:9 screen featured here

http://www.drhscreens.co.uk/fixedframe_matrix.asp

comes in at £245. Including the 6cm borders at each end, the screen is 246cm wide in total, thus 12cm in borders alone, do you think, i should get a custom screen to get even narrower borders? damn i wish my room was wider!!

Neil
 
It sounds like your already at your max size Neil, i dont think trying to shave a few mill off the sides is going to be noticable from your seating position.
I have gone out an extra 31cm on each side here from the original Draper screen to achieve max screen size for the room and from my seating position even that amount of horizontal stretch doesn't seem that much of a giant step. I use black velvet theatre curtains on either side of the screen on the side walls, about a metre wide each, but from my seating position it gives an optical illusion of the room being wider than it is, especially in bat cave mode.

Regards,
John.
 
It sounds like your already at your max size Neil, i dont think trying to shave a few mill off the sides is going to be noticable from your seating position.
I have gone out an extra 31cm on each side here from the original Draper screen to achieve max screen size for the room and from my seating position even that amount of horizontal stretch doesn't seem that much of a giant step. I use black velvet theatre curtains on either side of the screen on the side walls, about a metre wide each, but from my seating position it gives an optical illusion of the room being wider than it is, especially in bat cave mode.

Regards,
John.

sounds nice, any pics?
 
I have got pics of the whole of the dedicated cinema room build Neil but i can't seem to get them to upload ..... even when the jpeg size is within the limit, I'm obviously doing something not right.
The big sheet of AT microperf material has been delivered today from Beamax, not had chance to unpack it as yet. certainly is solidly boxed up.

john
 
I have got pics of the whole of the dedicated cinema room build Neil but i can't seem to get them to upload ..... even when the jpeg size is within the limit, I'm obviously doing something not right.

If you upload your pictures onto something like ImageShack® - Hosting then post the link they give in your post, your pictures should then show. :)
 
Hi Leej,
Let me see if this image shack link works then ... bare with me.

Picture should show room before new screen mods.

 
And this is what i was trying to send to you Neil the other night ....
A head on shot showing the original Draper 16:9 screen with the black velvet curtains either side which give the illusion of a wider room when the room is in movie mode.

 

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